Good luck with the asparagus bed. Off-topic, some other veggies I've found to be well-adapted in the Valley include Contender bean for early, "beany" green bean fans (spring only - they get fibrous - not stringy - in cool fall weather). Maxibel is the best bush filet I've found for our climate. Romano Gold does surprisingly well for a yellow bean and for a Romano type, up until about the middle of June, with Romanette performing even better for a Romano in hot weather (though not as well as the most heat-tolerant bush varieties). Get it from Crosman Seed Co. Heat-tolerant Brio, Matador or Festina beans are generally good for harvest up to early July (Brio also performs well when planted in August for fall harvest - haven't tried the others then) and I like Black Valentine or Coco Rose de Prague as green or shelly beans in variable fall weather. Fortex pole bean is great when the weather cooperates. Plant some Fordhook 242 or pole limas for fall harvest. They grow well in hot weather, but don't set beans until fall. Much better as green shellies than dried. Cook until soft and add a little butter for luxurious flavor. Edamame soybeans do very well here, and can be "picked" in the hottest summer weather by whacking off whole stems and bringing them inside for preparation. 'Tourth of July' tomato is very early and sweetens during our hot summers when preventing sunscald on the big varieties is a challenge. 'Magda', a Lebanese-style zucchini from France performs extremely well. 'Summer Dance' cucumber from Pinetree stays sweet and productive in summer - never bitter - if grown on a fence. The Italian climbing summer squashes like Zucchetta Rampicante Tromboncino (C. moschata) grow fast enough for a summer shade structure - try growing with one of the Cucuzzi type edible gourds, good barely steamed when young, pared and stuffed when like a baseball bat. Flavors are different from zucchini. The Butternut family of winter squashes (C. moschata) are best adapted here. Try "Tahitian". 'Early Sugarshaw' melon is exceptional here, but you may no longer be able to find seed. Try another Crenshaw, though. Protect ripening melons from sunscald. Banana melon (the orange-fleshed type) is a fun novelty. Most melon varieties do well in the Valley, but watch the Charentais types for cracking - restrict water when ripening even more than for other melons. 'Extra Summer Sweet' is a great little Japanese melon. You might put some in your future asparagus bed this summer. For fall, try pretty little Oasis, Hakeuri or White Lady turnips and big, ugly 'Just Right' for later harvest. All have sweet, flavorful roots and sweet hairless tops with a tough midrib. Turnips are planted commercially in the valley in September, but you could start planting the little "summer turnips" above in late August. 'Gilfeather' turnip/rutabaga is good for storage. Plant some kohlrabi in August or early September, too. For winter harvest, Tatsoi and similar Asian greens are decorative. Tyfon is a sweet, edible cover crop. Also mild Savannah hybrid mustard, the only thing I have had passersby stop and ask to buy from my garden. Bolting of leftover greens and unharvested turnips in late January and February may attract bees to pollenize fruit trees. Have fun gardening. Do you have some favorite Valley varieties? Carolyn Here is a link that might be useful: Extra Summer Sweet melon

Oh, I forgot to clarify, I'm looking for lythrum salicaria, not the other species. Thanks

I'd say it's balloon flower, Platycodon. I have some coming up that look just like that. Marcia

Here is a nice ornamental/edible asparagus. The foliage is much more finely divided than the species or most regular vegetable cultivars. It makes many, many spears in the spring. The spears are thinner than regular cultivars, but very tasty. I bought one probably 6 years ago, and really enjoy it both for its edible use in the spring, and in the garden the rest of the season. Also makes nice foliage for cut arrangements. As with all asparagus, to keep it nice looking it should be sprayed periodically to keep the asparagus beetle larvae from stripping it. Here is a link that might be useful: Edible/Ornamental Asparagus.